Olivia Photogallery

On 24 and 25 September 1994 Dr. Peter Black took a remarkable set of slides in Eastern Pacific Hurricane Olivia. On the 24th Olvia's central pressure was steady at 949 hPa and the maximum flight-level winds were 120 kt. On the 25th the storm had intensified to 925 hPa, but the sea-level pressure rose by more than 10 hPa during the 4 h that the P-3s were there. The storm moved from WNW 16N 118W on the 24th to 19N 120W on the 25th. These images illustrate important aspects of tropical-cyclone eye dynamics:
  1. View of Olivia's eyewall with the P-3's wing in the foreground.
  2. Inclined convective rolls probably due to barotropic instability along the inner edge of the eyewall wind maximum.
  3. Virga due to moisture detrained from the eyewall cascading down the inner edge of the eye.
  4. Low clouds in Olivia's eye on 24 September showing the sea surface visible through breaks in the undercast.
  5. Low clouds in the eye on 25 September showing the unbroken overcast due to moistening of the eye as Olivia filled.
  6. Composite panorama of Olivia's eyewall on 24 September.

NOTE: If you have browsed extensively through these images it may take many clicks on "back" to return to the Hurricane Summary. Click here to beam up at once